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Andrew “Amac” McDougall’s nine point lead evaporated today in the difficult patchy Dubai breeze of the third day of the PUMA International Moth World Championship. The first race of the day, race five of the prestigious event, was a carbon copy of the final race yesterday, with US Laser sailor Brad Funk scoring a bullet. European Moth Champ Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI) scored a second on the same race, and at the end of the day Psarofaghis moved into third place. “Today I lost a few positions I shouldn’t have, but overall I was going pretty fast in some difficult conditions,” the Swiss racer said. Simon Payne captured third in the race.

Seattle, USA skiff sailor Dalton Bergan pulled off the move of the regatta at the exciting start of race six, when he port-tacked the entire fleet – a sailor’s dream at a World Championship. The manuver payed off and guaranteed victory for Bergan. Australian Scott Babbage grabbed second place, with Funk again scoring big with a third. Payne continued his strong performance with a fourth and 2009 World Champ Bora Gulari rounded out the top five.

The last race of the day started in a lighter and dying breeze, with Psarofaghis edging out Brad Funk for the race win after Funk broke his boom vang. Funk also lost a sail control called a camber inducer, greatly reducing the power in his rig. The gear failure cost Brad one point, leaving his just two points from race leader Payne, whose consistency has proved his biggest advantage. “I was good but not great today, not quite as fast as yesterday just before I broke my mast, but then the conditions weren’t quite the same so you have to take that into account,” explained Payne.

Tomorrow is a lay day for the fleet.

Day Two of PUMA International Moth Worlds got to a late start as a foggy haze and light winds lead to a 30 minute postponement onshore. Today was really a pressure game- those who stayed in the pressure were able to get up on their foils and make gains. The fleet had three races today, bringing the total for the event up to four. Races two and three saw light winds and tough foiling conditions. The breeze filled in a bit for race four, allowing the fleet to really get up and moving. The leader board remains relativity unchanged, with Andrew “Amac” McDougall still in the number one spot. After day two, the top five are:

1. Andrew McDougall (AUS)
2. Michael Lennon (GBR)
3. Brad Funk (USA)
4. Scott Babbage (AUS)
5. Chris Graham (UAE)

During the Volvo Ocean Race, we found out that the best way to get our fans involved in all our fun it to show it to them! Whether it’s HD video, photos or great text, we want to keep you all as close to the action as our sailors. And that’s exactly why we’ve partnered with Saling Anarchy’s On-The-Water-Anarchy to bring you PUMA Moth Worlds Anarchy OTWA Forum and PUMA Moth Worlds Anarchy Special Report site.

We’ve got a great team on the ground in Duabi that includes Dr. Clean (for all you anarchy fans out there) and his crew of video and film pros.

photo credits: Meredith Block/On-The-Water Anarchy

Here is the official logo from PUMA International Moth Worlds.

PUMA Sailing welcomed PUMA Moth Worlds to Dubai with a beach party on Friday night.  The Barasti Beach Club was totally decked out in PUMA branding, even one of our PUMA Moths!  Sailors, race officials, media and over 5000 consumers attended the event.

Here are a few pictures from the beach party in Duabi.

PUMA is kicking off Moth Worlds in Dubai on February 26th.  PUMA has teamed up with the Barasti Beach Party to have a beach party, with international DJ Karizma.  Entry into the party is free, you must be 21+ to attend.

Alicante, Spain – 22 February 2010 – The racetrack for the upcoming Volvo Ocean Race, due to start from Alicante in Spain in the autumn of 2011, is now set and the first port of call will be Cape Town, South Africa, making its eighth appearance as host to this premier ocean race. This marks the beginning of the port announcement process for the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 and the rest of the course around the world will be revealed before the end of March.
The Volvo Ocean Race is the only professional sailing event that visits ports around the world and it is a delicate balance to select a track that is not only challenging to sail, but presents an attractive business case for potential sponsors and partners for both the race and the competing teams.
“We have received port bids from many different cities, each with their own cultures, specialities and challenges. We have taken our time to evaluate carefully over 80 bids from ports around the world who wanted to host the event, before making our decisions. As we continue to improve and lift the bar for our stopovers, it is great to have Cape Town onboard sharing the same vision and ambitions,” commented Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad.
Leg one at 6,500 nautical miles, which in 2008-09 took the eventual race winner Ericsson 4 21 days, 17 hours and 54 seconds to complete, is one of the longest in the race and historically, the team that wins this leg has gone on to claim the winner’s trophy.
For Cape Town, hosting the 11th Volvo Ocean Race/Whitbread will be the biggest event following its hosting of the FIFA World Cup. Over two million tickets have been snapped up for the World Cup, which takes place throughout South Africa in June this year.
The V&A Waterfront will be a perfect place for shore crews to prepare the boats for the next test in the race, and for guests to enjoy the ambience and unique atmosphere this ocean classic generates. However, the stopover will allow little time for rest. There will be a full schedule of sailing ahead of the start of leg two, including the important in-port racing, which counts points towards the overall winner’s trophy, as well as pro-am racing.
The European ports of call for the Volvo Ocean Race in 2012, including the finish port will be the next to be announced and the entire route is set to be revealed before the end of March.

The Volvo Ocean Race will announce the introduction of the new route for 2011-12 on Monday 22 February. A press release will be issued at 1000 GMT/1100 CET. We’ll make sure to post something on this blog once we have more news!

Nick Dana took this photo when delivering il mostro back to Sweden. PUMA sailmaker Tom Gall wrote il mostro using a head torch.